Just in: Judge orders demolition of St. Teresa middle school

A state judge has ordered the city’s Planning Board to allow the Church of Latter-day Saints to demolish the former St. Teresa of Avila Middle School, ruling that the panel’s February rejection of the church’s request “lacks rational basis.”

In a 15-page decision, acting state Supreme Court Justice Richard Platkin ruled that board’s insistence that the 1950s-era building is an integral part of the Helderberg neighborhood was not supported by any substantial evidence submitted to the court.

The lawsuit, filed in March, stemmed from the church’s desire to demolish the school at the corner of New Scotland and Hollywood avenues in order to make way for a new, smaller chapel with more parking.